by Javan Bonds
Looking back, I don’t know why the hell she didn’t just change right there, or why she even bothered putting clothes on at all. Nobody could see in, and it’s not like there were any cameras... Wait a minute; I forgot where we were. I took a quick look around at all of the posters and superhero characters staring at us from the store shelves. It wouldn’t surprise me if Gene had his hidden “security” cameras satellite-linked to one of his iPads on the Cora, watching us right now!
☠☠☠
Amy appeared outside the bathroom door. Wearing the outer parts of the costume, she must have forgotten to put on the leotard. Lowering both hands to her hip high boots to lift her weapons, she ordered me with a smirk. “Put ‘em up!” Both three-pronged sai were raised, threateningly.
Reaching inside my coat to my hip, I joked. “Don’t make me get the whip out… again!”
She dropped her weapons and ran at me with arms spread. Just as ready, I caught her in her leap. The face covering wasn’t raised, so I had access. I locked with her in a deep passionate kiss as I began shrugging my coat to the floor. Amy started pulling off the gloves that went almost all the way up her arms.
“No, leave those on, and the boots.”
She guffawed, unclipping her loincloth that barely covered anything anyway. “Whatever, turns your prop, flyboy!”
I don’t think I need to tell you where this was going. If you haven’t figured it out, ask your mama. And yes, I continued to wear the hat for the entire time. That one can be taken off my bucket list now!
☠☠☠
Afterward, we lay on the beanbags in front of one of the many TVs throughout the shop. Gesturing to her costume on the floor, I made a joking statement. “You know, Bradley is wearing the Daredevil suit...”
She raised her eyebrows. “And?”
“And you’re Elektra.”
“And?”
“And…” I raised up onto an elbow. “You don’t know anything about comics. Do you?”
“Well no!”
It may have been childish, but that was a relief. “Never mind then.”
“Whatever, stupid.” she laughed.
“Hey now! I don’t want to teach you another lesson.”
Amy jumped up. “Oh yeah?”
Okay, I actually was in the mood to teach. She apparently was also in the mood to listen or learn.
☠☠☠
After a while the two of us found ourselves collapsed in another pair of bean bag chairs.
Watching her slip back into the skintight outfit nearly made me want to take it off her again. Somehow restraining myself, we rose and readied to exit The Excelsior. I was now satisfied with her uniform in more ways than one.
☠☠☠
16
Memoirs of Benji Two:
Part Two:
ALIVE!INSIDE!
Rounding the corner into the open airplane hangar bay with Amy at my four o’clock, I spoke loudly. Though I hadn’t looked, I was sure Devin could hear. “Yeah, you’re gonna have to learn to fly. That way, we won’t even have to take him anymore.”
My girlfriend barely contained a laugh. “Can’t be too hard. After all, he is your copilot.”
The only other naval flight officer I knew to be alive gave a sarcastic, fake laugh. “Ha ha.” As the two of us closed on him, he asked the question as if it had been rehearsed. “So, where are we going today?”
What was the point in this charade of allowing me to think I had any control? Widening my eyes and lowering my voice, I looked at him. “What do you think? Stay along highway 431 again?”
Shrugging, he smacked his lips, giving the appearance of contemplation. “Should work. I’m glad we came to this decision before coming to a crossroads.”
It didn’t take much thinking. The Crossroads Mall in Albertville was one of the significant landmarks in Marshall County that every local would know. The mall part of the building seemed insanely small compared to most modern shopping malls. There were large department stores and even a grocery store attached; all of this made the main building pretty massive, which made it even more dumbfounding that the shopping mall area was so minuscule. The now-closed Mall Garden Theater, two big screens in a building to the rear, finished up the layout. The entire complex sat on a small hill with the parking lot falling away down toward the highway.
For my entire life, the place had been dead, even though the movie theater functioned until I was a teenager. According to my parents, the place was hopping decades ago. You know, with their rock ‘n roll music, bowler hats, and their crazy talkies!
I grinned at him, getting him to affirm my realization. “Think we could catch a movie at the Crossroads?” Writing this just gave me chills. Crossroads is also the name of the mall in the 2004 adaptation of Dawn of the Dead.
Nodding vigorously, he smiled from ear to ear. “I think we can find a couple.” I guess that settled it.
☠☠☠
“That wasn’t there last time we came through here.” I had gasped out.
“No, but it’s there now.” Devin didn’t say it, but Amy and I knew he was thinking it. And we are duty-bound to investigate.
My girlfriend was quiet, just looking over our shoulders. She was surprised to see signs of more survivors. Could they be some of the fellows from her original group? Or maybe survivors similar to another group she had run into? Was it as much fear, as surprise?
There was no ignoring the plea for assistance. It was apparent that, regardless of any hidden intent, non-infected people were living in The Crossroads Mall. I made a low buzz over the mall to let the survivors know that we saw the message painted on the roof. HELP! ALIVE INSIDE!
I didn’t think there would be, but there was more than enough room to land our small Cherokee on the highway in front of the mall. It initially didn’t look like we’d have room between the sets of red lights stretching over the four-lane. I know we could’ve landed in the mall parking lot; it was certainly empty as it always was. Regardless, I didn’t want to land the plane on a sixty-degree slope! Our tiny single-engine came to rest directly between the ABC Liquor Store and the entrance to the Albertville Cemetery on the opposite side of the highway.
Don’t even think about it. Nothing could have made me go to the damn graveyard. I know there wouldn’t be undead climbing out of the mausoleums, but cemeteries after any apocalypse are just fucking creepy! There wasn’t any reason to enter a field full of dead people, anyway.
The reclaimers had already completely emptied the liquor store at the entrance to the parking lot. Are you surprised? I wasn’t able to tell if they had been through Save A Lot, Dollar General, or any of the smaller department stores in the mall from down here. We began our slow trudge up the exaggerated incline between the liquor store and an old Blockbuster Video building.
Walking up the parking lot, which seemed more near to a sheer cliff, there were no more than three damn cars to take cover behind. Any survivors/sadists/murdering clowns remaining had seen our approach. Theatrically, I kept my hands visible, not wanting to get shot before I got to the door. Wind whistling was a strange sound in what had been a reasonably active city until recently. These people didn’t seem to be very active. No movement could be seen anywhere in the immediate area of The Crossroads Mall.
☠☠☠
17
Beanie Weenie
Coming into contact with a band of survivors less than a mile from the small apartment complex he was living in, was the last thing Neal had expected. He had never checked for humans at The Crossroads Mall. Being a castaway, in what was once a densely populated area of North Alabama wasn’t comfortable. But sure as hell, he’d been making do, still alive in his tiny apartment.
Though it never meant anything to Neal, the landlady, Mrs. Jackson, had been at the complex, doing a random check in on May 5. She’d been pushing around the maintenance supply cart that held cleaning solutions, such as bleach, when the peevies arrived. She let go of the rolling cart so that she could run awa
y faster. It just so happened to end up in front of Neal’s apartment door. Unknown to him, a jug of disinfectant turned over and spilled onto the carpeted hallway floor.
☠☠☠
Beanie weenies and stale saltine crackers weren’t great, but he grew accustomed to the taste. All Neal could do was snicker at the thought of all those people like Mrs. Jackson, and his parents that said he was “stupid for stocking up on those staples.” “There’s better food you could buy,” they said. Yeah, there was, but look who’s not blue, naked and not hungry!
One day while enjoying the peace & quiet of his solitude, Neal was sitting in a chair on the second story landing with his arms hanging over the railing. When something caught his eye, he froze. What came into his view was a happily surprising, yet terrifyingly horrible sight. It was a human, with clothes and everything!
Propping his scoped rifle in front of him, he yelled, trying to sound as bad-ass as he could. “Stop!”
Jim Glenn was the traveler with a gun pointed at him. The newcomer convinced Neal, after some seemingly endless negotiation, that his intentions weren’t hostile. Jim eventually persuaded the lone apartment dweller of his peaceful nature allowing him to approach so he could tell him the truth. When he explained that he was part of a large group of survivors living in The Crossroads Mall, Neal was shocked. He was more than a little angry at himself for not realizing other non-infected people were living so close by. It didn’t take much convincing, and Neal was down the stairs and headed to the mall with Jim.
☠☠☠
After only a few days of living with this group of humans, he felt at home. But after being alone for so long, Neal was still somewhat awkward. Being around people, especially girls, was something he’d have to get used to again. This was surprising to the man who sat in his apartment for what felt like a lifetime, thinking he was the sole survivor. The others didn’t even question him about food. He would’ve been happy to share the beanie weenies and crackers, but there was a grocery store attached to the mall. Anything Save A Lot had to offer would be on the menu for a considerable time. Despite the cornucopia, the survivors scavenged food if the opportunity presented itself.
Walking past the inner door to the small Papa John’s pizza parlor attached to The Crossroads Mall, Neal had a hankering for pizza. Or at least, he told himself, some pizza sauce on a stale cracker! “Let’s see what we can find in here.” He gestured to Jim to follow him inside.
Rifling through the storage area, Neal finally saw what he was looking for in a dark cabinet. “Aha!” Standing on a chair to reach the back of one of the high shelves, he grabbed an enormous, sealed No. 10 can of Pizza sauce!
Both hands wrapped around what he sought, he pulled it close to him. In his haste and the low light, he hadn’t noticed a glass jar, just as enormous. His elbow hit it causing it to tip over and began rolling off the shelf. It went off the edge, along with any sneakiness Neal was hoping for. A full jar of pickled jalapenos crashed onto the hard tile. It exploded, sending pickled pepper rings, and juice, everywhere.
The glass shattered, but nobody called for assistance. Neal probably just knocked over some cups or something. That was Jim’s first thought. Then, the aroma hit him. He sniffed. Something tangy...something vinegar... “Oh shit!”
Jim burst into the back room. “Dude! What the fuck?”
Neal shrugged and hefted his giant can of pizza sauce. “It’s all right, man. It was just a jar of peppers. But hey, look what I got!”
Having been alone in his apartment, Neal had never seen the peevies’ crazed attraction to vinegar. Also, he never had a reason to suspect any other solutions would repel them. Not knowing that, he may have just doomed every living person in the mall. Nothing could prepare them for what was coming.
Having stayed alive this long in this new world, Jim wasn’t ignorant. “Do you know what you’ve just done?” There was no need for a cry of alarm, call for others to help clean up the mess, or even lecturing the offender. Positioning themselves to fight off the horde of coming revenants was the next logical move.
☠☠☠
18
Memoirs of Benji Two:
Part Three:
Crossroads
We were halfway across the parking lot when Devin paused and glanced up at the portico over the entrance to the mall. Keeping stride beside him, I similarly stopped. Looking over at my copilot as this happened, my eyes followed his, tensing, I prepared for something terrible. Holding my hand, Amy stopped when I squeezed it. Something was unfolding.
When our feet came to rest, we immediately heard just what I didn’t want to. Animalistic barks, howls, and yipping coming from almost every direction. Why?
I spoke to Ghost Rider. “Did we do that?” He was slightly shaking his head to the negative, it was almost imperceptible, but I caught it.
As I looked back and forth from him to the box-like structure up the hill, several figures appeared in the small space between the roof and the rest of the entrance cover. Suddenly a voice from above us commanded, “Move it,” just before a half dozen rifles fired.
Obviously, they weren’t shooting at us, or the three of us would be dead several times over. Rounds were intended for the incoming blunatic horde behind us. For some reason, we automatically kept our heads down and raced toward the glass doors of the main entrance. A middle-aged woman opened the door and allowed us to enter, locking it again when we got inside.
I sat down on a bench, out of breath, and began contemplating. The woman just stood there, seemingly completely unguarded. We could have come here to rape and murder her entire group! “So how do you know–“
She interrupted. “How do I know you’re friendlies? Well, you did touch down in an airplane.” I raised my eyebrows, about to protest, but she cut me off.
“And I know that don’t mean shit. But you flew over to let us know you were coming. What kind of bad guy is gonna do that?” I shrugged, opening my mouth, but she again continued. “Plus,” she smiled pointing at my hat, “You’re Indiana Jones.” It didn’t seem she recognized Devin dressed as Ghost Rider, and for all she knew, Amy, wearing the red leotard and black accessories of Elektra, could have just been a freaky chick taking the end of the world a little too far.
Slowly nodding my head, I understood that much. “Okay. What about the peevies? What’s got them riled–“
My question ended as the door from Papa John’s Pizza burst open. A chubby guy walked out, wavering under the imposing gaze of another guy walking out behind him. They both glanced in our direction before moving back, deeper into the mall. At the time, I didn’t know these two or why one of them looked knowingly guilty. They went to the stairs leading to the roof; I would find that out shortly.
☠☠☠
Priscilla Peters was the name of the lady that ushered us in. It didn’t seem Amy knew this group or that they knew her. Strange how so many different bands of survivors could live in such close proximity but be entirely ignorant of others. Was this just a local phenomenon, or did things happen like this everywhere?
According to Priscilla, this group was huge compared to any I had come across thus far. A solid thirty-six people! “Thirty-seven,” Priscilla raised a finger, “when Julie Wilcox has her son.”
“Thirty-one of us can defend.” She gestured to the rifle over her shoulder as she smiled. “Regardless of what Tim thinks there’s only thirty-one.” As she continued, she started moving to the stairwell. “Then there’s the three of you.” Willing to lend a helping hand had instantly made us upstanding Samaritans.
The three of us arose to follow. Lining the Sears store on the left, were beds, bunk beds, and even the occasional pallet. They had turned the abandoned retail space into military-style barracks. Well, at least as close to military style as post-armageddon civilians could get. Housing for the young and infirm must’ve been in a store somewhere deeper inside the mall.
☠☠☠
Unexpectedly, the stairs didn’t lead all the way t
o the roof. The mall was only one floor, but with high ceilings throughout, it was technically more than one story. We climbed the stairs to the second-floor landing and were faced with a metal ladder going up. What I would compare to an opened manhole lay between us, and the top of the building. The four of us dropped into a single file and climbed up the rungs.
Standing in the natural light, I shielded my eyes for a moment and did a quick 360, which allowed me to take in my surroundings. There were probably portals similar to this from at least the large department stores throughout the mall, but I wasn’t going to check. Twenty-four souls peeked out over the edge of the roof, rifles at the ready. Those six rifles in the portico made up for the others. Priscilla finished off the thirty-first. Then there were the three of us, adding our numbers to it.
One would think a small army, protecting a castle on a hill, opposing an enemy made solely of naked, blue, lunatics with absolutely no weapons would have no problem winning the battle; in theory, anyway. The flesh-eating crazies were coming to the front and the back of the building. Even so, it should have been a piece of cake wiping the floor with them. But then again, this movie has to be entertaining, right?
Now, imagine countless attackers, high on cocaine, running full tilt from every direction. Even with the twenty-five defenders breaking up to protect the front and back entrances to the mall, the blue tide could not have been stopped. Spectacular as some of the defenses might have been, this group of survivors was protecting more than themselves on the roof.
Looking over the heads of the crouching defenders, I watched as the rabid monsters came closer and closer. Suddenly, a single rifle fired from the portico. That’s when I noticed a glass Dr. Pepper bottle on top of one of the three cars in the giant parking lot explode. The container, unknown to me at the time, had obviously been full of vinegar. A section of the zombie horde angled as one to the treat that had been set out in front of them.